Aug 27

Dear Mrs Prigozhn

I would like to convey my deepest regrets for the assassination of your husband. He was a true Russian hero and crime fighter. He was enormously effective in leading my mercenaries into Ukraine and reducing our prison population permanently. However, as you know mother Russia is more important than the individual and Yevgeny’s noble sacrifice will be remembered long after we have gone. Like a true Russ or Viking he died with a glass of champagne in his hand surrounded by his loyal captains who were probably too drunk to notice that the wings had been blown off by my surface to air missiles. I hope you can take comfort in the knowledge that he plunged twenty thousand feet into his native soil and received an instant cremation courtesy of the state. I will be deducting the costs.

I will of course be arranging a heartfelt funeral for him in his home town and look forward to holding your hand in front of the camera and presenting you with the biggest bunch of flowers you have ever seen. (We nicked them from the Wagner graveyard.)

Once again my deepest condolences.

Vlad.

PS: My girlfriend has left me. Are you doing anything next week?

……..

Another post from Robin:

Yevgeny Prigozhyn was not stupid.

When Yevgeny Prigozhyn halted his rebellious march on Moscow he understood very well what the consequences of such a failure meant. he knew from that moment forward, he was a dead man walking. Reports suggested that he stopped his army because his family were under direct threat in St Petersburg.

Prigozhyn’s only chance of survival was to get as far away as possible and hope the failing war against Ukraine would provide a chance for someone to get Putin before Putin got him. This was his natural world, an FSB/Mafia world where everything was money, power and revenge.

Prigozhyn had his own army, his own bodyguards and his own private jet. He knew what he needed to do to stay alive. His people would search his cars and his aircraft. They would scan waiting areas for listening devices and explosives. His travel plans would be changed at short notice, routes and timings would never be repeated. He would use disguises or a double in an identical car to confuse any ambush attempts, cook his own food and never accept gifts. He was not stupid.

All these prevention methods are standard for any professional, close protection team. His people were selected for their loyalty above all else and they had proved that loyalty over time. His regular troops (conscripts excepted), held him in high regard as a ruthless leader who was visible in the front lines.

However, Putin owns experts in breaking down security systems and carrying out assassinations. Putin had the resources of a whole nation at his disposal. Every chemical agent, surveillance device and weapon were there for him to use. He only had to watch and wait for his moment.

Progozhyn knew this too, and it showed in his demeanour on recent videos. There was no longer the violent, angry bombastic statements attacking the Russian military. Living his last months, he knew that he was walking a tightrope with no safety net.

A weak moment appeared when he returned to St Petersburg with his Captains. His precautions were sound when he prepared to leave for Moscow but a flight plan had to be made and even at short notice and this had to be submitted to air traffic control.

Once in the system his route and flight path were known and is was a relatively simple task for Putin to place either a combat jet, or a surface to air missile on his route. We can be sure that Putin wanted him dead, his jet suffered a catastrophic failure and lost a wing and the aircraft crashed and burned. There were are no obvious indications of in internal explosion because the aircraft video shows an intact fuselage. It is impossible to believe that this was some kind of escape conspiracy.

He was assassinated, with the patience and cold deliberation that we always expect from Vladimir Putin. Putin want Russians to remember that!

Slava Ukraini!

Who Dares Shares

Robin Horsfall